What is the percentage of freshwater on earth?

As these charts and the data table show, the amount of water locked up in ice and snow is only about 1.7 percent of all water on Earth, but the majority of total freshwater on Earth, about 68.7 percent, is held in ice caps and glaciers. read more

Over 68 percent of the fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers, and just over 30 percent is found in ground water. Only about 0.3 percent of our fresh water is found in the surface water of lakes, rivers, and swamps. read more

The image shows that Earth's water resides in a very thin slice all around the Earth's surface. Distribution of Earth's Water In the first bar, notice how only 2.5% of Earth's water is freshwater - the amount needed for life to survive. read more

The ocean holds 97 percent of the Earth's water; the remaining three percent is freshwater found in glaciers and ice, below the ground, or in rivers and lakes. Of the world's total water supply of about 326 million cubic miles of water, over 96 percent is saline, found in the ocean. read more